Naruto: A Christmas Story
by min-mango
Summary: Tsunade notices that Christmas in Konoha this year is lacking celebration... Will she be able to fix it?
1. An Idea

Hello, dear readers!

I hope you are as excited for Christmas as we are, because it's Christmas Eve, and who wouldn't be?! In the spirit of the holidays, we (Min + Mango) wrote a cute little Naruto AU fanfiction to ring in Santa and all that Christmas cheer (which will also be our very first published story! Yay! *Min: huff puff, don't expect too much*). In this AU, Sasuke never left, and the story takes place after Naruto defeats Pain. Beware some OOC moments…. and strap yourself in for a wondrous, winter sleigh ride, ;)

With love, Min & Mango

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><p><strong>Chapter 1: An Idea<strong>

_'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house_

_Not a creature was stirring, not even a- _

"ARGHHH," Tsunade exclaimed as she relinquished her hold on the pile of paperwork she had in her arms. It was Christmas Eve for heaven's sake, and she was still up doing who knows what! All she wanted was to have a cup of sake and relax, but her assistant Shizune had to go and confiscate her secret stash just moments before she could get to them.

Right at that moment, Shizune walked in, Tonton in her arms. "How are you doing, Tsunade?" she asked.

_Well, speak of the devil,_ Tsunade thought. She sent a dark glare towards her assistant. "I could be doing better if I had some sake right about now!"

Shizune balked. "Well, you do need to finish all your work."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm taking a walk," Tsunade muttered as she stalked out the door.

Shizune sighed and turned towards the windows as she heard the door slam behind her. Sometimes she just didn't know what to do about her sensei. She knew Tsunade would be back soon, though, because her cloak was still draped on her chair.

Tsunade made her way out of the recently rebuilt Hokage Residence and down the street. She didn't have an exact destination in mind, but she realized belatedly that she had forgotten to grab her cloak before storming out. Though the chilly air nipped at her bare arms and face, the frostiness woke her up. Snow fell quietly all around her, the ground beginning to be covered in white. Her skin prickled as snowflakes melted in tiny pinpoints on her, and she tilted her face upwards, inhaling the sharp, fresh air.

_We'll be having a white Christmas tomorrow for sure. _She brightened up at the thought. With vigor, Tsunade pumped up her fist into the air. "YES!" she shouted with a child-like glee to no one in particular. Then she briefly glanced around to make sure no one saw her acting out of her hokage character. When she finished giving her surroundings a 360, she realized she was the only one in the streets. The realization quickly dampened her mood. All the buildings and houses were dark and gloomy, besides the occasional lit window. Why wasn't anyone outside? Where were all the lights? It was only evening, surely not late enough to have to sleep. Why was no one celebrating the snowfall and the fact that Christmas was tomorrow?

Konoha usually had Christmas Eve celebrations, full of lights and dancing, love and laughter. She knew from past experience that Christmas Eve was one of the most bustling and active days of the year, especially during the night. Everyone would be celebrating that they were all together and safe on such a holiday. Children and students would be out playing games and participating in activities, the restaurants and street vendors would be overfilled with customers, and the streets would be chock full of civilians and shinobi alike.

Maybe Tsunade missed out on something while she was doing all her work. She hurried back to the Hokage's residence to ask Shizune. Once she got back, she was surprised to see Shizune was still at her perch next to the window.

"You're back quickly," Shizune stated.

"What's with all the deserted streets outside? It's Christmas Eve! It's snowing!" Tsunade exclaimed. She felt ashamed she didn't notice the lack of celebration sooner. What _had_ she been doing?

"I don't know," Shizune replied, giving Tsunade a sad glance. "It's just since after Pain's invasion, people just aren't as festive as they used to be."

"Well, we need to change this!" Tsunade said with conviction. "We need to bring the joy and laughter back into people's hearts!"

Shizune rose her eyebrows. "How do you plan on doing that?"

Tsunade faltered. "Uh, I can ask Katsuyu?"

Shizune let out a laugh. The thought of Tsunade's slug-summoning spreading holiday cheer was a little ridiculous. "Are you sure that would work? Some people would be more disgusted than appreciative."

As an answer, Tsunade bit her finger, letting blood spill, and touched the ground. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

With a puff of smoke, a large slug appeared before her. "Tsunade-sama?"

"Do whatever you can to get help so I can spread joy and laughter," Tsunade commanded.

"Alright," Katsuya said. Like it was a common occurrence to be asked to spread cheer in the ninja world.

She left…

...and re-appeared later with Team Kakashi, Kurenai, Asuma, and Gai, all slumped against each other.

Tsunade's eyebrow twitched. "This is not what I asked for."

"What are we doing here?" a half-asleep Naruto yawned. "I was resting from all my saving the world with the whole Pain Invasion, you know."

"Don't get all high and mighty on me," Tsunade retorted. "I didn't ask for all of you either."

"Then what are we doing here, sensei?" Sakura asked drowsily.

"I almost attacked Katsuya when she woke me up," Sasuke said crankily, upset to be woken up so late in the night.

"I don't know," Tsunade replied, looking pointedly at Katsuyu. "What ARE they doing here?"

"You asked for help to spread joy and laughter. Thus, I brought help," she said innocently.

"This will have to do," Tsunade sighed, not exactly sure how to proceedddddd

She had expected something more… easy to make do with.

"Right, so why are we here again?" Shikamaru said, whilst rubbing his eyes. "This is bothersome."

Tsunade cleared her throat before another person could interject. "You are all gathered here today for an important mission." She started seriously. "We must dispel this dismal atmosphere"-here, she gestured outside the windows to the barren streets of Konoha-"by conquering all of this gloominess and sorrow, and bring back happiness and joy to Konoha!"

"That sounds like something Guy sensei would say," Tenten whispered to Neji. Both looked at Rock Lee whose eyes were already shining. "Yes, Tsunade-sama," he said reverently. Neji and Tenten sighed.

_At least someone is on my side_, Tsunade thought, some tension leaving her brow.

"Is there food involved?" Choji asked.

"YEAH!" Naruto piped up, suddenly awake. "Do we get ramen afterwards?"

"Sure, whatever you want," Tsunade said.

Everyone leaned in. "Whatever we...want?"

Tsunade waved her hands. "Not _anything_. I'll-I'll treat you all to Christmas cookies?"

"I'm in!" Choji said happily, rubbing his belly.

Everyone else besides Rock Lee turned away.

"Nah."

"I'm going to bed."

"Who needs holiday cheer anyway?"

"Wait!" Tsunade said. "As Hokage, I command you to halt!"

Everyone stopped in their tracks. What was so important about this that Lady Tsunade had to keep everyone from their dreams?

"Today I walked out into the streets of Konoha expecting celebration and festivities and unity. But do you know what I saw? Nothing! The streets were dark and empty! This has been the first time in the history of this village that there was no celebration. Ever since Pain's invasion, the people have lost their hope and joy. Things have never been the same since. That is why I called you here today. Don't you want to help?" Tsunade asked pleadingly. She looked around at the faces of the young shinobi.

Naruto let out a huge yawn. "Not really."

"YOU DARE SPEAK AGAINST YOUR HOKAGE?"

"Uh."

"I mean," Choji began, "if the people want to sleep in and have a quiet Christmas, we should let them! Who are we to come between them and their rest?"

Everyone looked at Tsunade pointedly. Naruto let out another yawn.

"Ahh…" Sakura exhaled thoughtfully. "But what fun is that? Christmas comes around only once a year. We have every other day to sleep in and have a quiet morning, Christmas should be different!"

"That's a part of it," Tsunade nodded approvingly. "Hm… How about I make this a competition between your teams?" Tsunade said, lips forming a smirk. "See who can deliver gifts and decorate houses the fastest?"

The four teams looked at her blankly.

"Come on," Tsunade said. "Naruto, you don't want to be beaten by the other teams do you?"

"What's in it for me?" Naruto squinted.

_They are not getting the point of Christmas,_ Tsunade thought helplessly. What did it take to let them see that Christmas wasn't all about what was in it for themselves?

"Fine, barbeque dinner tomorrow for the winning team," Tsunade said flatly.

"Including ramen?" Naruto interjected.

"Yes."

"WELL I'M IN," Naruto declared. "Sasuke, Sakura, we have to win this!"

"Right!" Sakura agreed. Turning to Ino and the rest of Team Asuma, she let out a grin and pumped her fist. "We'll beat you, Ino-pig!"

"Hn," Sasuke uttered unenthusiastically, he'd rather be sleeping.

"Not before we do, Forehead!" Ino yelled back.

"We're not getting squeezed into a pulp by any of you," Shino said dauntingly, voice not at all muffled by his coat collar.

"Let's do this!" Tenten said.

Tsunade sighed with relief. They were cooperating.

Neji crossed his arms. "You guys are forgetting something."

"What?" Tsunade said, irked that maybe she had missed something.

"What gifts exactly are we giving? And what kind of supplies are we using to decorate?" Neji asked.

Tsunade drew a blank, and an awkward pause ensued. "Well...that, is a very good question."

Before Neji could fully form a smirk, a light bulb popped in her head.

"That's it!" Tsunade blurted out. "Each team will make their own presents, and-no worries!" She ran out of the room and came back with a box. "I just remembered that Gaara sent these Christmas lights over from Suna, to help us with the Christmas Eve celebration decorations, except we never used them… there are more than enough for the entire village!"

Shizune cut in. "Someone will need to bake cookies, also."

Tsunade nodded.

"We-we are supposed to do this in one night?" Hinata asked.

"Yes, before dawn," Tsunade reaffirmed. After a pause, she added. "I will give everyone a Katsuyu, so I can keep track of progress. And the Christmas lights will be in the courtyard outside of the Hokage's residence."

"Troublesome," Shikamaru muttered as a smaller Katsuyu detached from the original and jumped onto his shoulder.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Kiba said. "Let's get started!" Akamaru barked once in agreement.

In a flash, all four teams left.

Tsunade sat back in her chair, putting a hand on her forehead. "I hope all of this works."  
>"Are you sure you should leave this to them? They can get a bit… rambunctious at times," Shizune said.<p>

"What other choice do I have?" Tsunade eyed that large stack of paperwork sitting on her desk. "Oh well, screw this Hokage business. I'm going to set the boxes of lights outside the Hokage's residence. And you're helping me, Shizune."

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><p>"We'll have to do this quickly," Neji said solemnly, pacing back and forth, as Tenten and Rock Lee watched him. He didn't want to lose to the likes of Naruto, or worse, that arrogant Uchiha.<p>

"Aye, aye, sir!" Rock Lee saluted him.

"What's our plan of action?" Tenten asked.

"Completely and utterly destroying the other teams!" Neji slammed his fist onto a table.

"Sounds like a good plan, sir!" Rock Lee saluted him again.

"Uh…." Tenten faltered. Neji was taking this competition a little TOO seriously for her liking. "We don't have to necessarily _destroy_ them, do we? Besides, you don't even like barbecue, Neji."

"Hmph," Neji said. "I do like barbeque."

"No, you don't!" Rock Lee saluted him.

"Well, I can't be beaten by the likes of that Naruto," Neji stated with conviction.

"Right, right!" Rock Lee agreed.

"Riiiiight," Tenten said flatly. "So what's the actual plan?"

"Completely and utterly destroy-"

"Okay, Rock Lee can take care of the decorations, Neji will make the gifts, and I'll go to the Konoha Community Food Pantry to bake the cookies," Tenten interrupted Neji.

"Ma'am yes ma'am!" Lee saluted once more, straightening his posture to the point where he started to bend backwards. Then in a puff of cloud, he disappeared down the street.

Neji sighed. How was he supposed to make gifts?

"You can use your brains to make the gifts," Tenten said teasingly, seeming to read his mind. "With all those Hyuuga prodigy skills, I'm sure coming up with simple Christmas presents is a no brainer!"

Neji sent Tenten a glare and stalked off. Tenten shrugged her shoulders and left for the the food pantry.

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><p>Meanwhile, Team Kakashi, minus their sensei, had also just finished delegating jobs; Sasuke was in charge of gifts, Naruto of decorations, and Sakura was given the task of baking cookies.<p>

After Sasuke left in search of easy-to-make Christmas gifts, Naruto walked with Sakura down one of the streets, looking around for a place that provided easy-access baking ingredients and reliable equipment.

"Where would be a good place?" Sakura wondered.

"Hm," Naruto scratched his head, then he felt his mouth starting to water as Ichiraku Ramen came within sight, warm and inviting. "I would kill for some ramen right now."

"Not now, idiot," Sakura punched his head.

"Ow!" Naruto said.

"They'd have an oven though!" Sakura said excitedly. "I'm a genius!"

"That was… my idea," Naruto said weakly as she dragged him over.

"Sure it was," Sakura gave Naruto a skeptical look. "Do you think they would let us use their kitchen for just this night?"

"Totally!" Naruto gave one of his famous grins. "Me and Ramen Pops are tight! Let me just ask him for you."

Sakura rolled her eyes at Naruto's nickname for Teuchi. If Naruto ever came up with such a stupid name for her, she'd personally make sure he landed in the hospital for weeks.

Naruto jogged back to her in an instant, his right hand giving a thumbs up. "Ramen Pops gave the A-ok! As long as you clean up afterwards, he's fine with us using his kitchen."

Sakura smiled. _Cha! _They were SO going to win this. She was not about to let that Ino-pig get the best of her!

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><p>First chapter = RELEASED! What did you think of it? Suggestions? Improvements? We LOVE constructive criticism and would appreciate any! Thanks for taking time to read this! Future updates will be consistent and we hope you're as excited as we are about this Christmas!<p> 


	2. Plan A

Hello, dear readers! We've got another chapter up!

With love, Min & Mango

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><p><strong>Chapter 2: Plan A<strong>

Ino wanted to pull her hair out. She had tried to use her own kitchen at home, but her mother kicked her out. Apparently she was going to make too much noise and disturb her neighbors with all her pot clanging.

"Like I need pots for baking cookies," Ino mumbled while rolling her eyes. But now that she was kicked out of her own home, where was she to go in order to bake Tsunade's Christmas cookies?

She kicked the ground as an image of Sakura smugly pulling out tray after tray of cookies out of the oven wiggled into her mind. _I am not about to lose to Forehead on this one!_ She thought angrily.

The smell of cookies filled the air._ Hm_, she thought suspiciously. Maybe Sakura _was_ smugly pulling out tray after tray of cookies out of the oven. Sniffing, her nose led her over to Ichiraku Ramen. _Who was making cookies here?_ She went under the hanging flaps of the vendor stall.

"Welcome to Ichiraku Ramen!" Teuchi and Ayame smiled.

"Are you baking cookies?" Ino asked.

"No, but we're lending our oven," Teuchi said.

"You have an oven?" Ino asked, surprised. "Could I use it for tonight?"

"Yeah, totally! We don't have much business tonight, anyway," Ayame said.

They led her to the oven behind the main kitchen, where some baked cookies were already sitting, albeit slightly burned. Sakura stood before them, mixing some dough.

"Crap!" Sakura cursed. "I forgot the sugar-" she broke off as she saw Ino. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?"

"WHAT?!" Ino couldn't believe it, Sakura really WAS already pulling tray after tray of cookies out of the oven, and here Ino was, white flour not even dusting her finger tips! Recovering her thoughts, she shot back. "Forehead! The REAL question is, what are YOU doing here?"

"Well, if you're thinking of using this oven too, Ino-pig, forget it!" Sakura retorted. "First come, first serve, as they always say."

"That's not even your own oven!" Ino huffed.

"Uh," said Ayame.

"Both of you can use this oven!" Teuchi said brightly.

Sakura huffed.

Ino snarled.

Sakura crossed her arms.

Ino put her hands on her hips.

Then they both settled on a glare at Teuchi for suggesting such an outlandish thing.

"Unless you want to find another place?" Ayame suggested, clearly miffed.

"Fine," Sakura and Ino snapped at the same time, the ungrateful kunoichi they were.

Ino slammed down a mixing bowl. Sakura snatched a bag of sugar. Ino dumped a cloud of flour into her bowl. Sakura swung the spatula.

"Do you even know what you're doing?" Ino gave Sakura an incredulous look.

"I do," Sakura puffed, whilst twirling some measuring spoons.

"Well I guess the burnt cookies say it all," Ino commented sarcastically.

"Humph!" Sakura huffed. "Don't think you're all high and mighty just because YOU happen to know the recipe to making perfect Christmas cookies!"

Ino ignored her childish slander, picked up one of Sakura's burnt masterpieces, and took a nibble.

_Blek!_ She immediately spit it out. "Sakura, it's SALTY!"

Sakura scratched her temple in embarrassment. "Yeah… I was rushing and I kind of realized that I mixed up the two after I finished baking the cookies…" She pulled out two jars that were both filled with white, crystallized grains. "See? Don't they look the same?"

"Well, we'll just have to start all over again," Ino sighed. What was she going to do with this girl?

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><p>"WOO-HOO!" Naruto hollered, running atop buildings with Christmas lights trailing out of his two hands. "You guys can't beat me! I've already finished two houses! Barbeque and ramen are mine!"<p>

"I cannot disappoint Guy Sensei!" Lee muttered to himself. With a mad sprint, he finished his second house. "You won't get the best of me, Naruto!"

"Come on, Akamaru, we won't let that clumsy Naruto beat us, now, will we?" Kiba addressed his dog. Looking at their half-decorated house, he decided it was time to turn things up a notch. Hands flashing through hand signs, Kiba said, "Ninja art: Beast Human Clone!"

The other three decorators paused in what they were doing, all turning their heads toward Kiba's direction. They were just in time to see Akamaru's form slim to resemble his owner's, and his fur change to Kiba's clothes. Kiba in turn became more feral and he crouched into a dog-like position.

"WHAT?!" Naruto cried. "That's not fair! Are we even allowed to be using ninjutsu?"

"Well, we are ninja after all," replied Choji, hands stuffing chips into his mouth.

"True," Naruto acceded. "I suppose Tsunade never set any restrictions…" For some reason, using ninjutsu never occurred to him. In a blink, Naruto made a hand sign whilst yelling, "Multiple SHADOWCLONE JUTSU!" Suddenly hundreds of doppelgangers appeared next to him. "Let's all do this!" all the Narutos cheered.

Now it was Lee's turn to gawk. "WHAT?! You guys now have an unfair advantage!" He, after all, could not just leave his decorating speed in the hands of a jutsu.

"We ARE ninja," Choji restated, almost done with his bag of chips. He hadn't even started decorating one house yet. Yet he was still feeling hungry, even after finishing a few bags of chips….

Fine then, Lee thought. If they were going to resort to their lowly ninjutsu to win this, he would use his taijutsu! Reaching down into his leg warmers, he pulled out half of the weights and set them on the ground. The weights were so heavy that even the gentle gesture made crater-like imprints in the dirt.

A swift green blur whistled past Naruto and Kiba, leaving them in the dust. Suddenly several houses twinkled with prismatic lights.

Now it was Naruto and Kiba's turn to drop their jaws. "That was fast," Naruto mumbled, struggling to pick up his jaw from the ground.

Lee appeared before them. "I WIN!" he shouted gleefully.

"No, you haven't!" Kiba couldn't help but snarl in his Beast Human Clone jutsu. "We still have the rest of the village to decorate!"

"Not bad, Lee," Naruto acknowledged. He picked up a box of lights, and his clones mirrored his movement. "But I'm going to win this! Come on, everyone!" He motioned to the other Narutos and they all moved toward the west side of the village in a wave of orange and black.

Kiba sent a withering glare after Naruto and his wave of clones. Without another word, he also grabbed a box of lights and headed off in the eastward direction, Akamaru on his tail.

As Lee also headed away to a different section of the village, Choji caught a whiff of something sweet. His nose wasn't as well-known as the Inuzuka Clan, but when it came to food, barely anyone could beat him. And he knew that delicious scent. They were cookies, freshly baked at that. Without another word, he stumbled off, following the delectable aroma of baking batter and sweetness.

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><p>Thanks for reading! Comments, favorites, etc. would be much appreciated. ^_^<p> 


	3. Plan A, Part 2

Hello, dear readers! You guessed it, we've just saved you from the horror of a cliffhanger. (And yeah, we realize it's already January and we're still posting this Christmas story but it's gotta be finished)

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><p><strong>Chapter 3: Plan A, Part 2<strong>

Tenten arrived at the Konoha Community Food Pantry, to find it was only open from 7AM-9PM. She cursed. She should've taken their closing hours into consideration. Now what was she going to do? She didn't usually bake at her house, so she didn't have all the ingredients and equipment that was necessary. Not to mention it was freezing wandering out in the streets.

She turned to step away, but she blindly bumped into someone else. "Watch where you're going!"

Tenten muttered. Who was out this late at night?

"S-sorry." That someone turned out to be Hinata.

"Oh, sorry about that Hinata! I didn't mean to snap, it's just that Tsunade's made bringing Christmas cheer such an ordeal," Tenten sighed. "I assume you're making cookies for your team?"

Hinata agreed with a smile. "Have you found someplace to make cookies?"

Tenten looked at the Pantry's hour sign in frustration. "Nope."

Hinata followed Tenten's gaze. "I planned to bake here as well...my father isn't one for homemade cookies."

"Where else should we look?"

"I have no clue," Hinata sighed. "I wonder how the other teams are doing?"

"I don't know," Tenten looked pensive. "But they are probably doing better than we are. Do you want to stick together? We can work as a team and split the job."

"Sounds like a good idea," Hinata said. "I don't think all this competing will accomplish much."

"Yeah, I don't care for barbeque anyway," Tenten added.

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><p>Shikamaru stared at the sky, the snowflakes still tumbling through the dark night. This was all too troublesome. All this business about cheer and gifts was too much. Honestly, he didn't really understand why Tsunade was making such a big deal about how there were so few villagers out and about. He wouldn't be out and about even without the Pain invasion memory hanging over everyone's heads. He hadn't wanted to do anything for Tsunade, but his teammates assigned him the "wonderful" task of making the gifts. <em>Wonderful, my butt<em>, Shikamaru thought. He didn't even know where to begin. All he wanted to do was be in his bed, cozy and warm, fast asleep…

Recalling Ino's advice, Shikamaru lowered himself into a crouch and touched his fingertips together in his signature thinking pose. All he'd have to do was treat it like a battle, and find the best strategy for success. After a few moments of silence, an idea came to him: he would carve wooden figures with a kunai knife. Simple, easy, and if he could find some trees, he'd be mass-producing in no time.

Shikamaru rose and turned a corner to find himself almost colliding into Shino.

"You almost bumped into me," Shino said in a low voice.

Jeez, Shikamaru thought. Some people changed, but Shino was still creepy. "Where are you headed?"

"Not anywhere in particular," Shino said. "Do you have a set destination?"

"I was just going to the outskirts of the village, to find some trees," Shikamaru replied. "Are you making gifts?"

"Yes, and you are too?" Shino said.

Shikamaru nodded. "Affirmative."

"Can I join you?"

Shikamaru hesitated for an unnoticeable second. He didn't want to help out the other team, but he also didn't want to ruin relationships over some free barbeque.

"Sure, you can come."

Without another word, they both walked in awkward silence toward the village gates.

Neji kicked another stone on the ground. At this rate, it'll be morning and he _still _wouldn't have any Christmas gifts made!

"Tenten has teamed up with Hinata and Rock Lee is trying his best to catch up with Naruto," Katsuyu updated Neji for the third time that night.

"I realize," Neji deadpanned.

He decided he would stalk Shino and Shikamaru. He saw them earlier with his Byakugan, heading outside the village.

_Byakugan! _His vision sharpened and his surroundings became white-washed, glowing with little clusters of blue, showing everyone's chakra streams. He zeroed onto the ones of the competition. Shikamaru, Sasuke, and Shino.

"Guess I'll go there and see what's going on," Neji said.

He eventually reached the area where the others were. They each already had a waist-high pile of wooden figures, perfectly carved into different famous ninjas.

Neji's eyes widened. "How did you get so far already?!"

His voice broke into the stark silence. Three heads along with three fierce stares whipped in his direction.

"Look at who decided to join the party," Shino said flatly.

"Well-" Neji started.

"I don't blame you, since Sasuke also used his kekkei genkai," Shikamaru said.

"Katsuyu prompted me to look for ideas," Sasuke clarified.

"Are you saying that we are not worth your time?" Shino exclaimed, offended.

"What?!" Sasuke asked. "I didn't even say anything to mean that?"

"A good shinobi always looks for the deeper meaning behind the surface of mere words," Shino stated.

The other three ninjas stared blankly.

"What?" Shino asked.

Sasuke shook his head. "Anyway, we're all here now, so might as well get to work."

"Help yourself to some trees," Shikamaru spread his arms wide.

"Ponder on the meaning of life," Shino said.

"Thanks, I was just waiting for an invitation," Neji quipped.

"Hey, now, don't be a party pooper-" Shikamaru started.

"Finished," Sasuke said, smirking. "I now have enough Minatos and Hashiramas to reach the top of the Hokage Monument. I will now distribute them."

"WHAT?!" Shikamaru gasped in horror. "This is such a drag. Sasuke, why'd you have to make it all hard now…" He began whittling faster, creating a whirlwind of various Hokages.

Neji faltered in his gathering of tree branches. "I haven't even started, yet..." he said morosely.

"I'm on my 354th figure of Iruka-sensei," Shino announced while carefully placing his finished product in an orderly fashion. "Quality before quantity in my opinion."

Sasuke sped towards the village.

"Wait!" Shikamaru called out. "How do you plan on transporting your figurines?"

The small speck of Sasuke slammed to a halt. It paused, then returned in a few seconds.

"Right," he said stiffly.

"Well, you were probably on the right track, anyway," Shikamaru said. "You were probably getting some bags to bring them back with, right?"

Sasuke's eyebrow twitched. "Yes."

He once again sped off into the night, returning with a handful of Naruto's Ichiraku Ramen takeout bags in tow.

"You are too kind!" Shino said. "Thinking of us, too?"

"No," Sasuke said. "As you can see, my figurines greatly outnumber yours, and so they need all of these bags."

"ARGGHH," Shikamaru exhaled frustratedly. "This is all so very troublesome. Why are we even letting Tsunade manipulate us into doing this for her? This is wasting quality sleep time."

"I agree," Sasuke said pointedly. "I need all my energy to train tomorrow morning."

Meanwhile, Neji had already finished a great deal of figurines himself. He went over and snatched a couple of Sasuke's bags. "I'll just take some of these, thank you very much, UCHIHA." Neji quickly filled his bags and sped off into the distance, leaving a peeved Sasuke behind.

Glaring, Sasuke summoned his hawk and piled on all of his figurine-filled ramen bags onto the hawk. "Help me out here," he muttered. His hawk crowed in agreement. "Bye," He called, and throwing on his signature smirk, disappeared into the sky like a ninja Santa Claus.

"And then there were two," Shino stated, making eye contact with Shikamaru.

Thoroughly creeped out, Shikamaru muttered, "Now don't you get any ideas."

* * *

><p>Sakura and Ino just pulled out their third successful tray of Christmas cookies, when through the door came Hinata and Tenten.<p>

"What are you doing here?" Ino said, surprised.

"We were wandering aimlessly until Katsuyu clued us in on where you guys were," Tenten informed.

"I see," Sakura said. _More competition_, Inner Sakura huffed. Although outwardly she put on a friendly, cooperative aura, she was secretly plotting the best way to smuggle the majority of the cookies for her team.

"Well, we don't want you here either," Tenten seemed to read her mind.

"Whaaaa?" Ino and Sakura said together. "What makes you think that?"

Hinata started explaining. "Teuchi and Ayame gave us permission to use their ovens, so-so-"

"So one of you better move over since there are only two ovens here," Tenten told Sakura and Ino frankly

"Ha ha… what a VERY funny request," Ino said.

"Same… I am almost dying of laughter here," Tenten replied.

Ino's eyes narrowed.

Tenten did the same.

Tumbleweeds blew across between them.

"I see we'll have to settle this in a draw," Sheriff Tenten cocked her guns.

Bandit Ino cracked her knuckles.

"Howwwwwww about we just share the ovens?" Sakura interjected cheerfully, as she came between them and gave them both a large squeeze.

"Fine," they both bit out simultaneously.

"Guess we're a team," Ino muttered to Sakura.

"Whatever prevents someone from dying," Sakura retorted.

"What? This is only friendly competition," Ino sniffed.

"Friendly competition, my heinie," Tenten called out from her side of the kitchen.

"We're ahead anyway," Sakura said.

"We'll catch up," Hinata said, determined. She preheated the oven and set out the needed equipment while Tenten measured out the ingredients.

"We'll see about that," Ino said as she and Sakura started shaping out the cookie dough on a new tray. She shared a look with Sakura and said smugly, "We're going to show them who's the ultimate cooking pair."

Throwing Ino a smirk, Sakura agreed. "Right ON."

* * *

><p>Choji followed the cookie scent, while finishing the last of his third bag of chips that night. "Dang, I should've brought more chips in my bag…."<p>

Naruto, Rock Lee, Kiba, and Akamaru had done a great job of decorating the houses. They only had a few buildings left. The warm Christmas lights twinkled against the dark windows. It was a wonder no one was awake with the ruckus that was going on. Maybe people were just too gloomy to care.

_Might as well let Naruto, Rock Lee, and Kiba finish what they started,_ Choji shrugged.

He turned a corner and came across the brightly lit Ichiraku Ramen vendor. Smoke was wafting out of the curtains and even from his position far from the restaurant, he could hear shouting voices. It didn't seem like a pleasant place right now, but his nose was telling him that was where the cookies were. He ducked under the door curtains and came face to face with Sakura, Ino, Tenten, and Hinata, each red-faced and frantic.

However, there were several plates of enticing, beautiful, round-shaped treats. The kunoichi were too busy to notice, so Choji stuffed a bunch of cookies into his pockets and mouth. He proceeded to open his weapons pouch and he dumped all the shuriken and tags onto the table and replaced them all with freshly baked snickerdoodle and sugar cookies.

Then he snuck away, quiet as a ninja.

* * *

><p>So… as the nice, grateful reader you are, you kindly ask, "How may I repay you, for you so grandly saved my life (from a cliffhanger)?" And we, as the Min &amp; Mango duo, so generous and considerate, simply ask of you, "A swift comment, favorite, etc. would be all that we request." Nah, just kidding! But really, thank you for reading!<p> 


	4. Plan A, Part 3

Hello, dear reader! Another chapter, successfully delivered. ;)

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><p><strong>Chapter 4:<strong> **Plan A, Part 3**

Naruto stood back and admired his work. He had just placed lights on a tree in a certain formation that was similar to the image of Tsunade. This one was a masterpiece.

Suddenly, a green blur zoomed past before Naruto could even blink. And after swaying slightly, all the lights fell to the ground.

"WHAAAAA?" Naruto's jaw dropped. "BUSHY BROWS!"

He looked around and saw Akamaru tugging at some of the other lights Naruto had spent sweat and tears putting up. The others were ruining his work! He flung his fist around angrily. "Just what do you guys think you're DOING?!" he shouted, his breath forming large, misty clouds.

"Taking down the competition," Kiba snickered. "LITERALLY."

Naruto glared back at them both. "Well, two can play at that game." He turned to his shadow clones and commanded, "Commence Operation TAKE DOWN THE COMPETITION, YEAH!"

"HAI," all 112 shadow clones saluted Naruto. In a blur of orange and black, Christmas lights dimmed and fell one by one, as if there was a sudden replay of the last Shinobi War. All at once, it was now a mad rush in bringing down others' lights while putting up one's own.

Rock Lee was in the midst of hanging some Christmas lights on the edge of a roof when he looked all around, realizing something. "Where's Choji?"

Kiba and all the Narutos also stopped mid-action. "Choji…?" Kiba asked. He sniffed the air.

"I don't see him around," Rock Lee explained. He looked at the ground, but it was full of slushy snow made from their rapid running around, no distinct footprints to be seen.

"CHOJI!" Kiba called loudly. They all stopped and listened. There was no response, not even the faintest of a _chomp _which would've betrayed Choji's eating.

Kiba was calling Choji's name again.

"He was here awhile ago," Rock Lee said. "Maybe he just went somewhere nearby? He's prone to wander off, in search of food, most times."

Naruto narrowed his eyes in thought. He mentally consulted his shadow clones, had any of them seen Choji?

"We should find him," Naruto said finally. "Who knows what could happen in these dark, dark times," Naruto looked around suspiciously. "With the very people you trust, TURNING ON YOU, TAKING DOWN YOUR CHRISTMAS LIGHTS." He huffed. But memories of the attack on the village not too long ago resurfaced in Naruto's mind... No, it would not do to be careless.

"Yeah, well, I want that barbeque," Kiba said.

"I must fight for my team!" Rock Lee exclaimed tearfully.

"Okay, we should call off decorating for now, and we should look for Choji," Naruto suggested. He hoped Choji was only nearby.

"No one better touch anything," Rock Lee added.

"I've got my eyes on you," Kiba squinted at the other two. Akamaru barked in agreement.

"Hypocrites," Naruto muttered, whilst rolling eyes.

They all went off in different directions.

* * *

><p>Tsunade held her head in her hands, frustrated. From what Katsuyu had been telling her, all the teams were not getting the point.<p>

"I almost regret making this into a competition," Tsunade said aloud.

"At least it got them going," Shizune pointed out.

"True…But still. They're too competitive, almost to a fault. We need to teach them the true meaning of Christmas!" She glanced out the Hokage office at the still-dark village, with only a few sections lit with Christmas lights. There was not much time left.

"Should I remind them all?" Katsuyu offered.

"No, they still wouldn't learn anything," the Hokage said. Sometimes they were too stubborn and thick-headed, she thought, with a certain blond haired, blue-eyed whiskered shinobi coming to mind. Neither the villagers nor the shinobi were getting the point of Christmas.

"Um…" Shizune faltered. "Pardon me, but…. what IS the true meaning of Christmas…?"

Tsunade turned swiftly to face the trembling Shizune, who was already preparing herself for one of Tsunade's temper flares. "It is obviously… not very obvious," Tsunade sighed.

Crossing her arms, she turned towards her window as she so often did to help herself think. "Hold on…." She stared through the falling snow, out to the working construction in the parts of the village that were destroyed during Pain's invasion.

She mulled over her thoughts, with Shizune and Katsuyu waiting in the reflection of the window.

"I'VE GOT IT!" she finally exclaimed.

"You found the meaning of Christmas?" Shizune asked.

"No, the meaning of Christmas is being kind, generous, giving, all that jazz," Tsunade flapped her hands, and she turned around to face them. "But now I know how to make the teams understand!"

"Don't just stand there grinning like an idiot," Katsuyu prompted. "Tell us! We're running out of time!"

"Right right," Tsunade began to pace the length of her room in excitement. "Here's how we'll go about doing this…"

* * *

><p>Sasuke paused mid-delivery, as he was placing a Tobirama with particularly uneven eyes on a doorstep. Without thinking, his eyes shifted blood-red with black tomoes. Someone was watching him. He could feel it.<p>

Turning towards his hawk, he decided to find Neji and the others. The relentless stare gave him a very bad feeling.

Within a few seconds, he descended on Neji, who, thankfully, wasn't too far from Shikamaru and Shino.

"Uchiha," Neji acknowledged. "What are you doing here?"

Shikamaru and Shino joined them.

"What's up?" Shikamaru asked.  
>"Someone's watching us," Sasuke said. "And it doesn't seem friendly."<p>

Neji nodded. "I feel it too."

"Should we go investigate?" Shino asked.

"Maybe we should meet up with the others," Shikamaru said. "Neji, can you see who is around?"

Neji replied by activating his Byakugan. "I don't see anyone… They left quickly."

"They must be very skilled, with speed like that," Shino pondered out loud. "We'd better regroup and find him or her."

"Well, there are five at Ichiraku Ramen," Neji said, his Byakugan still at work. "And three more are headed in that direction."

"So we'll head there as well," Sasuke concluded.

Sharing a universal nod all around, they all disappeared in a poof of clouds.

* * *

><p>"Choji was headed towards this direction," Kiba said, sniffing the area with Akamaru.<p>

"Hey," Naruto squinted. "This place is familiar… it's the way to Ichiraku!"

"I knew it," Rock Lee said. "He's always eating and trying to find things to eat."

"Hold on," Kiba called out. "These decorations…. they've been torn down."

"I KNEW YOU GUYS WERE SHADY," Naruto accused the others, jumping back and pointing a finger at their faces.

"I didn't do it!" Rock Lee jumped back and put his hands up.

"Neither did I," Kiba said, with a confirmatory bark from Akamaru. He looked at Naruto suspiciously. "Did you?"

"I kept my word," Naruto said honestly.

"Wait," Kiba sniffed the lights. "None of us did this. This is a different scent."

"What… Are you implying… sabotage?!" Lee cried incredulously.

"As if we weren't sabotaging each other before now," Naruto once again muttered to himself, noting the hypocrisy of them all.

"Well, this is an interesting turn of events," Rock Lee rubbed his chin. "Is it any of the other team members?"

"Nope," Kiba said, sniffing the lights. "But it does seem familiar…"

"Shall we find Choji first, and then hunt this guy down?" Naruto asked.

"Let's find Choji first since we're probably near him anyway, with the rate his trail is going," Kiba said.

Naruto and Lee nodded in agreement.

With a group consensus, they headed off to Ichiraku Ramen more united than ever before.

* * *

><p>Min: hmmmm wonder what's gonna happen next *_*<p>

Mango: keep your eyes peeled…..like bananas

Min: *drools over thought of ramen*

Mango: *takes a chomp out of a banana*

JK. Bananas and ramen, sadly, will not be making a cameo in the next chapter.


	5. Failure

Howdy, dear readers! Is it what you think it is? YAAAAS it is... ;) Another chapter, hopefully better than the one before it!

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><p><strong>Chapter 5:<strong> **Failure**

Ayame and her father stood at the edge of the kitchen in Ichiraku, feeling quite confused as shinobi seemed to pop out of nowhere in particular. They meant to only lend their ovens for others' use, yet now… Naruto and his friends had apparently found Choji there, and a few more shinobi followed. It was getting quite crowded and noisy.

"WHERE DID ALL THE COOKIES GO?!" Sakura's voice floated above the din.

"DID ANY OF YOU IDIOTS STEAL THEM?!" Tenten's angry red face appeared, with steam spewing out of her ears.

"We didn't steal them," Ino retorted. "Did you take ours?"

"We didn't!" Hinata replied.

"WHAT ABOUT THE REST OF YOU?" Sakura turned towards the others and gave them fierce glares.

"Uh, we just got here," Shikamaru said.

"Oh wait, why ARE you guys here?" Ino questioned, as if she just realized seven other people just arrived.

"We were trying to find Choji," Naruto explained sheepishly.

Sasuke stepped forward in the group. "We come with news," he said officially.

"Well?" Kiba prompted. "Care to inform the rest of us?" They all gathered closer to listen to what Sasuke had to say.

"We felt…" Sasuke began. "We felt as if someone was watching us."

Crickets chirped.

"THAT'S what you came for?" Sakura exploded.

That was not the response Sasuke expected. "I felt a very sinister presence," he replied.

"And on what basis do you found that on?" Tenten asked, not completely buying it.

"It was not your average civilian chakra," Neji muttered in defense.

"Right," Naruto said, unconvinced.

"My Sharingan is never wrong," Sasuke insisted.

Kiba spoke up. "Wait, Naruto, he might be on to something. Remember how we found something unusual as well?"

"Oh yeah!" Naruto's memory sparked, and the moment earlier that night when they found the suspicious torn down lights came into his mind.

"You guys found something unusual as well?" This piqued Shikamaru's interest.

"We found some decorations torn down, but Kiba didn't recognize the scent," Rock Lee informed the rest of them.

Thoughtful silence ensued.

"Could it be some thoughtless villager?" Hinata tentatively suggested.

"Certainly a cruel one, if it was," Ino said.

Sasuke, Shikamaru, Shino, and Neji all shook their heads. "No, it was definitely evil," Shino said ominously.

Neji nodded in support of Shino's claim. "Just because it's Christmas Eve doesn't mean there won't be trouble."

"Why would anyone do this, though?" Rock Lee asked. "All our hard work…"

"We should stay on alert," Choji piped up, munching on something. The four girls turned towards his direction.

Crickets chirped as four pairs of eyes zeroed onto the round pastry Choji had in his hands.

"SO _YOU'RE_ THE CULPRIT," Ino shouted. "GET HIM!" The four kunoichi started running towards him.

"WAIT, HOLD UP," Naruto said, getting between the fearsome kunoichi and Choji. "Deal with that later. We need to figure out the current problem at hand."

Ino looked about ready to shed blood. "You guys had better be right about this. The competition is at stake!"

"You don't believe us?" Shino said, offended.

"No, no, that's not it…" Ino melted from Shino's intimidating glare.

Sakura was searching around. "Choji, did you take the sugar, too?"

Choji shook his head as he chomped down on another cookie.

Tenten shook her fist."YOU LITTLE-"

"Calm down, calm down," Rock Lee interrupted her. "We need to finish all this Christmas business with utmost efficiency before the sun rises!"

"Because…" Sakura continued from her previous thought. "All the sugar has disappeared."

Crickets chirped.

"WAIT WHAT?!" Ino couldn't believe her ears.

"Explanation, please," Naruto squinted his eyes. "What does sugar have to do with anything?"

"Idiot Naruto," Sakura tried to keep calm. "A cookie is sweet, right? And sugar is known for making food sweet, right?"

"And your point is…" Naruto squinted his eyes even more.  
>Ino looked around. "I was so sure that I had put the sugar on this counter here..."<p>

"No one took it," Shikamaru looked around for everyone's confirmation. "You probably just misplaced it somewhere."

"Ah, forget it, you're most likely right," Sakura said impatiently. "Let's just make do with what we have so far."

Everyone looked at the measly number of cookies left on the trays… Burnt ones, at that.

"Alright," Shikamaru said, changing the subject and redirecting everyone's attention on him. "We need a new game plan."

"RIGHT!" Lee enthusiastically agreed. "What is this plan?"

"Gather around," Shikamaru said. "Now, things _are_ getting suspicious, but we can't let this stop us. Since we don't have further evidence, we'll just have to ignore it for now. I want to go to sleep, and the fastest way to get there is if we finish this Christmas business as soon as possible. We're going to have to work together, instead of competing against each other."

"Work… together?" Everyone tilted their heads. What was this brand-new concept?

"Makes everything go faster," Shikamaru elaborated.

"Right, teamwork," Naruto nodded.

Taking charge, Shikamaru spouted out orders. "Sakura, Ino, Hinata, Tenten, work out an assembly line for the cookies. Naruto, Lee, Kiba, and Choji, stop tearing each other down. And Sasuke, Neji, Shino, and I will proceed with delivering figurines!"

"Cha!" Sakura pumped a fist.

"We'll show Granny Tsunade who's boss tonight-MFFFAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Naruto's voice became muffled as a gloved hand covered his mouth. Everyone whipped their heads in his direction, just in time to see that Naruto...

...was captured-

-by a Masked Man! But before anyone could react, the Masked Man zoomed away, with a flailing Naruto in his clutches.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong>

Well, well, well... wasn't that a lovely cliffhanger.

We will only save those who favorite, follow, or comment their thoughts on our story. ;) Do or die?


	6. Analysis

Hello, dear readers... hope life is going well for you! ;) Here's a dose of Naruto to brighten up your day~

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><p><strong>Chapter 6: Analysis<strong>

"Follow him!" Shikamaru cried.

The eleven shinobi all flash stepped after the mysterious ninja, but after skidding around a corner in a frantic chase, he and Naruto were nowhere to be found.

Sasuke sighed. "Trust the dobe to get himself into trouble."

"Was that Tobi?" Sakura vaguely recalled the only S-ranked criminal she knew with a swirly mask on.

"You don't mean to say… that the Akatsuki are after Naruto again?" Hinata elaborated anxiously.

Everyone gasped. It was Christmas Eve, for Hashirama's sake!

"The-the-Akatsuki?!" Ino breathed.

Kiba wailed. "Not the Akatsuki!"

Shikamaru waved their concerns to the wind. "Akatsuki or no, we need to find Naruto and save him before anything happens! Neji, Hinata, could you use your Byakugan to find Naruto?"

"On it," Hinata said as she activated her Byakugan. After a brief second, Hinata announced, "He's on the Hokage monument! In Minato's head!"

_Now's my chance to step ahead and leave Naruto in the dust, looking at my back! _Sakura thought.

"Let's go!" they charged towards the Hokage monument and arrived in moments…

...only to find Naruto swinging back and forth, tied upside down from the ceiling…

...with the Masked Man nowhere to be found...

Sasuke couldn't help but feel his eyebrow twitch in nostalgic annoyance.

"You couldn't at least stop him?" Kiba asked.

"Humph!" Naruto pouted. "And what am I doing right now, picking daisies?"

"Well, basically," Neji muttered.

"Well don't just stand there everyone," Naruto exclaimed in frustration. "Get me down from here!" He gave his whole body a good wiggle for good measure.

Sakura turned around. "Now you're actually looking at my back, HA!"

Crickets chirped.

Everyone stared at Sakura in confusion.

"Erm, nevermind..." Sakura looked down sheepishly. "Just crossing something off my bucket list..."

"JUST GET ME DOWN FROM HERE," Naruto demanded.

A green blur zoomed past, and seconds later, the ropes were cut and Naruto suddenly found himself in mid-air. He fell to the ground with a loud thud.

"Okay, dobe," Sasuke approached Naruto. "Where did that Masked Man disappear to?"

Rubbing his head, Naruto replied groggily. "Uhh I argh don't oww know…"

"I guess we'll have to split up and look for him then," Tenten concluded.

Shikamaru nodded in agreement. "I guess the most efficient way would be to split off in our respective squads and find this guy."

"We should go," Shino said. With the rest of Konoha 12's agreement, they all turned towards the entrance-

-to have their sights met by the presence of the Masked Man, blocking the entrance to Minato's hollowed head.

"You!" Naruto cried angrily. "I'm going to make you regret that you ever messed with Konoha's future hokage!"

The Masked Man turned around to leave as if Naruto had never even opened his mouth.

"Oh, no you don't!" Shikamaru muttered, whilst waving hand signs in a fury. "Shadow Possession Jutsu!" Streams of black caught the Masked Man's feet right before he could escape.

Sasuke's eyes had slipped into their Sharingan form. He would find out the Masked Man's identity and motives right then and there. However, before he could activate his genjutsu-

POOF!

The Masked Man disappeared…he was a shadow clone!

"Darn it," Naruto despaired. "Missed my chance!"

"Hold on…" Ino ran to where the Masked Man stood just moments before. She picked up a folded piece of paper. "He left a note!"

Everyone gathered around her as she opened and read it out loud. "Want to save the day? Find the real meaning of Christmas."

"Why would Tobi leave a note like that…?" Lee was suspicious.

"IT'S A TRAP," Tenten gasped.

"HE MUST BE THE GRINCH," Naruto exclaimed, horrified. "That's why he's been ruining our Christmas decor and cookie baking!"

"That makes sense!" Choji agreed. "Who else would steal cookies that were for a good cause?"

Everyone looked at him. "You."

Choji guiltily pulled out another cookie to munch on. "I was hungry, okay? This is so I can function."

"Anyway," Neji pulled the conversation back on track. "We haven't even gotten a look behind the mask. We don't know for sure."

"Maybe we should think about what the note is asking," Ino suggested.

"Now we're talking!" Kiba attempted to pep-talk the team.

"The real meaning of Christmas… any ideas?" Shikamaru looked around.

"The real meaning is to eat cookies!" Choji shouted enthusiastically, while simultaneously shoving another cookie into his mouth.

"Um…" Sakura said. "That only applies to you."

"OOOOH BURNNN," Everyone echoed.

"'BURN,'" Choji muttered. "Like your cookies."

"SALTY," Everyone turned towards Sakura now.

"Ha haaa," Ino giggled. "Funny, 'cause Sakura's cookies were salty as well."

Sakura glared at everyone. "Ha. Ha. Very funny. Let's get on with this."

"I think I know," Hinata's voice piped up.

"What is it, Hinata-chan?" Naruto unknowingly closed the distance between them in his excitement.

Blushing harder, Hinata continued. "I think the true meaning of Christmas is to be happy and selfless. Helping others, giving, and making others happy. Working together as a team." With this last phrase, she looked around at everyone and smiled. _They were doing just that._

"Nah, I think it's just cookies," Choji said.

Sakura punched Choji. "I agree with Hinata!"

Everyone nodded their heads as well.

"In that case," Sasuke said. "We should resume what we were going to do before. If we're quick, we'll all be able to catch a bit of sleep before dawn."

Without wasting another minute, all 12 shinobi poofed out of sight, appearing once again in front of Naruto's favorite ramen shop.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong>

Thank you for reading! Remember, favorites, follows, and constructive criticism are ALWAYS, always, welcome! ;)

Also, we are planning to write more stories (obviously) and have a few possibilities in mind already, but we would LOVE to hear suggestions from our lovely readers! Please feel free to comment/submit/email/whatever your ideas & prompts that you wish to see become reality :)

Stay tuned for the next chapter!


	7. Plan B

Hellooooo, dear reader! Little late on this update, sorry about that! Life is but a whirlwind of endless things to do, haha!

This chapter is a little short... and more like a transition element for the plot. But anywho, we hope you'll enjoy it ;)

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 7: Plan B<strong>

Sakura focused the chakra into her fists and punched the living heck out of the dough in front of her. Pausing to take a break and wipe the sweat off her brow, she glanced around at the other kunoichi to see how they were doing.

"Could you work a little faster?" Ino said, putting the final sprinkles on the last cookie of their recent dozen.

"I'm working fast enough," Sakura grumbled, slapping the dough next to Tenten who promptly whipped out a kunai and whisked out a dozen shapely cookies.

"We're working at a good pace," Tenten reassured. She took out the previous batch and inserted the new one into the oven. "Here you go, Ino! Don't get too hasty with the icing now, remember to wait a few minutes to allow the cookies to cool." She lightly jested.

"Yeah yeah," Ino's eyes glinted playfully. "I wasn't born yesterday, you know."

Hinata carefully added a perfect cup of sugar into her bowl of mixed ingredients."We make a nice team, you guys." Making eye contact with everyone, she smiled.

"Yeah, I suppose," Ino shrugged, at the same time Sakura said, "Kinda."

Tenten closed in on Hinata's ear and whispered, "I think they still can't put team rivalries behind them."

"At least they're cooperating," Hinata whispered back.

"We can hear you, you know," Sakura gave them a look.

Tenten waved her hands. "Okay, okay, back to work."

"Maybe some music will help lighten the mood?" Hinata suggested. She wanted to disseminate the slight tension that seemed to divide the four kunoichi.

"Yes," Ino sounded enthusiastic for the first time since working together. "What a great idea, Hinata!"

"Uh, have you _heard _my singing skills-" Sakura started.

"Sakura, stop. Have you heard _mine_?" Tenten laughed. "No one should worry, we're in a judge-free zone." Cranking up the old radio Ayame and Teuchi had in their kitchen, she tuned them into Konoha's most popular music channel.

As their favorite songs played, the kitchen seemed to radiate warmth, filled with laughter and song.

Hinata smiled, her goal was met.

Now to meet Tsunade's.

* * *

><p>"It must be in the wee hours of morning by now," Ino noted after awhile. There were stacks of decorated, delicious-looking cookies all around them.<p>

"I think this is enough," Tenten said.

"So… what now?" Sakura stifled a yawn as music faintly played in the background. "Do we just hand these out?"

Just then, Kiba, Akamaru, Naruto, Choji, and Lee waltzed in.

"Done with the decorations," Lee said.

"We did a fine job, if I do say so myself," Kiba added.

Naruto sniffed the air. "That's quite a lot of cookies ya got there… Mind if I take one?" He tentatively reached over to grab a particularly good-looking treat.

"NO, IDIOT!" Sakura slapped his hand away. "These are for the nice people of Konoha. Not for naughty boys like you."

"Okay, okay," Naruto backed away rubbing the growing bruise on his hand.

Shino, Shikamaru, Sasuke, and Neji suddenly appeared.

"Done with the deliveries," Sasuke announced.

"That was quick!" Naruto observed.

"What do you expect?" Sasuke replied.

"Shino had a brilliant idea of using his bugs to deliver most of the figurines," Shikamaru explained. "The rest of us just star gazed."

"Whoaaa Shino! Never thought you would think up something clever like that!" Naruto praised him.

"Are you saying I am not very clever in general?" Shino towered above Naruto intimidatingly.

"Uh… you're very smart…" Naruto withered under his flashing sunglasses. "And I like your sunglasses," he added weakly.

"Seeing how we're all done with what we were supposed to do, let's report back to Lady Tsunade!" Sakura suggested. "The girls and I also have to ask her what exactly she wants us to do with these cookies anyway."

"Hn," Sasuke approved. "Let's finish this mission strong."

"And quickly…" Shikamaru yawned. "I can feel my bed summoning my presence."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong>

What do you think? What's going to happen next? Please comment your thoughts and feelings. Once again, they are always, ALWAYS welcome. ^_^

And as usual, we are opening our inbox to prompt suggestions for one-shots and multi-chapter-ed stories alike! We encourage a variety of prompts, but no lemons please!

Stay tuned for the next chapter~


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